Fierce fighting between Islamists and a rogue Libyan general's forces in Benghazi has killed 21 people, as violence intensified following the launch of an "anti-terrorist" campaign.
	Hospital officials in the eastern city, the birthplace of the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi, said at least 11 soldiers were among the dead and 112 people wounded.
	The government of outgoing prime minister Abdullah al-Thani said it was holding an "emergency meeting" on the violence, which residents said eased in the afternoon.
	It was the deadliest violence since 76 people were killed in mid-May as rogue general Khalifa Haftar unleashed an offensive dubbed "Operation Dignity" to purge Libya of Islamists he brands "terrorists".
	Underscoring the mounting chaos in the North African country, gunmen yesterday opened fire on the road convoy of army chief Abdessalam Jadallah al-Abidi in Tripoli, without causing casualties, his spokesman said.
	Colonel Ali al-Shikhi said the ...

Fierce fighting kills 21 in Libya's Benghazi

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Gunmen killed three people when they opened fire on fans at a football game in Mexico's troubled western state of Michoacan, authorities said.
	Three more people, including a 13-year-old boy, were wounded in Sunday's attack during the final of a local league tournament in the town of Paracho, the state prosecutor's office said.
	The unknown assailants fled the scene and nobody has been detained so far.
	The federal government has deployed thousands of troops to Michoacan in a bid to bring peace to a state plagued by drug-related violence.
	Last month, the government legalised vigilante militias that formed last year to combat the Knights Templar drug cartel.

Three shot dead in Mexico football match

Israel said it was "deeply disappointed" by the US readiness to work with a new Palestinian unity government which was sworn in today as part of a deal with Islamist movement Hamas.
	"We are deeply disappointed by the comments of the (US) State Department regarding working with the Palestinian unity government," a government official said.
	"This Palestinian government is a government backed by Hamas, which is a terror organisation committed to Israel's destruction," the official told AFP, declining to be named.
	"If the US administration wants to advance peace, it should be calling on (Palestinian leader Mahmud) Abbas to end his pact with Hamas and return to peace talks with Israel," the official said.
	"Instead, it is enabling Abbas to believe that it is acceptable to form a government with a terrorist organisation," the official added.
	State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki earlier said Washington believes Abbas has "formed an interim technocratic government... That does not ...

Israel 'deeply disappointed' by US reaction on Palestinian

Russia has lifted its embargo on arms supplies to Pakistan and is holding talks on supplying Islamabad with combat helicopters, the head of state-owned Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, said today.
	   "Such a decision has been taken. We are holding talks on supplying the helicopters," Chemezov said, adding that the negotiations were about Russian Mi-35 Hind attack helicopters, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
	   Russia has long been the largest supplier of arms to India, which is the world's top arms buyer.
	   But Moscow's move to supply Islamabad came as New Delhi is seeking to modernise its armed forces' ageing hardware and has recently chosen to buy arms from Israel, France, Britain and the United States.
	   Leading Russian defence commentator Pavel Felgenhauer said the lifting of the embargo that had been in force since the Soviet era marked a sea change in Russian policy on arms sales, which until now have been focused on India amid difficult relations between New Delhi and ...

Russia lifts arms embargo to Pakistan: report

Protests by supporters of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram have been banned in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, police said today, as activists vowed to challenge the "illegal" move.
	Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police spokeswoman Altine Daniel confirmed the ban in a text message to AFP, saying the decision was taken "because of security reasons".
	Protest organisers questioned the legitimacy of the move and eyed a possible political motive, but police chief Joseph Mbu said the ban was imposed because of the threat of infiltration from "dangerous elements".
	"There is no basis for and no power of FCT Commissioner of Police to ban peaceful assembly of any group of persons in... The city," said protest leader Oby Ezekwesili on Twitter.
	"The decision to ban the protest is insane. We are going to court as soon as possible to challenge the ban," added the group's lawyer, Femi Falana.
	'Bring Back Our Girls' spokesman Rotimi Olawale said that the protesters were "unperturbed" 

'Bring Back Our Girls' protests banned in Nigeria's capital:

Fierce fighting between Islamists and a rogue Libyan general killed at least 18 people in Benghazi today, triggering fears of an all-out war as hospitals urged citizens to donate blood.
	Officials at hospitals in the eastern city, the birthplace of the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi, said at least 11 soldiers were among the dead and that 81 people were wounded.
	The government of outgoing prime minister Abdullah al-Thani said it was holding an "emergency meeting" on the violence, which residents said had eased in the afternoon.
	An air force commander said the clashes erupted when three Islamist groups, including Ansar al-Sharia, attacked a base of elite forces who support the renegade general, Khalifa Haftar.
	Images posted on the Internet showed army assault helicopters firing missiles at suspected Islamist targets.
	The fighting was the bloodiest since 76 people were killed in mid-May when Haftar unleashed an offensive dubbed "Operation Dignity" to ..

Fierce fighting kills 18 in Libya's Benghazi

Kenyan police said today that they faced an angry mob in the country's northeast after two suspected "terrorists" were killed at the weekend near the Somali border.
	The two men were shot dead Saturday night after trying to force their way through a barricade near Mandera, a small border town. A third man in their vehicle managed to escape, the local police chief, Noah Mwivanda said.
	"On reaching the police road barrier ... The terrorists defied an order by the officers to stop and instead retorted to hurling three hand grenades at them. But our officers gallantly engaged them in a fierce gun fight, killing two of them instantly," he said.
	Police said eight grenades were found in the vehicle.
	"Those who were killed were Al-Shebab operatives," said Mwivanda, referring to the Somali insurgent group.
	"They were planning to carry out deadly grenade attacks," he added.
	But the killings sparked anger in Mandera, where a respected local sheikh said the men were innocent.
	"It could be ..

Two suspected 'terrorists' killed by Kenya police

A 13-year-old impoverished Indian schoolgirl, thought to be the youngest female to climb Mount Everest, said today that she had never scaled a mountain before setting her sights on the world's highest peak.
	Malavath Poorna, daughter of a tribal farm labourer, said she reached the 8,848 metre peak on May 25 following a difficult and dangerous climb from the Tibetan side of the mountain in China.
	Poorna said she and her 16-year-old friend, a member of India's lowest Dalit caste previously known as "untouchables", climbed the mountain with ten Nepalese guides before hoisting the Indian flag.
	"I started to train for Everest last September, my parents and my instructors were very encouraging," Poorna told AFP in Kathmandu before heading home to India.
	She spent around seven months training on rocky hills and later on icy terrain in India's Himalayan Ladakh region, learning to cope with altitudes and bitter cold, a world away from her home in the tropical south Indian state of ...

Indian schoolgirl elated after Everest summit

Seven soldiers and several other people were killed today in clashes between the Yemeni army and Shiite Huthi rebels close to the capital, tribal and medical sources said.
	The clashes erupted after troops tried to expel rebels from a strategic position near Amran controling the road to Sanaa, local officials said.
	The air force intervened to back the army and its allies from the Sunni Islah party, they said.
	The rebels, known also as Ansarullah and backed by local tribes, retaliated by attacking telecom installations and blocked traffic on the main Amran-Sanaa road, the officials said.
	"Seven soldiers were killed and 16 others wounded in the battle," a medical source told AFP.
	Tribal sources said 18 rebels were also killed, a toll that could not be verified.
	The rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam declined to give a death toll.
	But he condemned the air force's intervention as a "very serious development" and warned of "consequences".
	In Sanaa, unknown gunmen opened fire on the 

7 troops among several dead as Yemen army, Shiites clash

A Singaporean blogger sued for damages by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said today that he had successfully raised fees for his legal defence in just four days through crowdfunding.
	Roy Ngerng Yi Ling, a government health worker who posts comments on social issues, said 1,104 people had so far contributed more than 55,700 USD when he launched the campaign on Friday.
	Ngerng published the transaction history of his bank account on his crowdfunding platform. Many of the donors registered comments criticising Lee and opposing the use of libel suits to silence government critics.
	Singapore officials have long used defamation suits against printed publications to defend their reputations.
	Ngerng was the first online critic brought to court by a Singaporean leader.
	"Donations were mostly of small denominations, and ranged from one cent to two thousand dollars. I think it reflects the people's frustrations with the current situation," Ngerng (33), author of a blog called 'The Heart ...

Blogger uses crowdfunding to fight PM's defamation suit

Australian Defence Minister David Johnston has backed comments by his United States counterpart Chuck Hagel accusing China of "destabilising" actions in the South China Sea.
	Speaking in Singapore on Saturday, Hagel accused China of a number of alleged infractions, including against the Philippines and Vietnam, the two most vocal critics of Beijing's territorial claims.
	"In recent months, China has undertaken destabilising, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea," the US Secretary of Defense told the annual Shangri-La Dialogue.
	In opening the forum, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged countries to respect the rule of law, in apparent reference to perceived Chinese aggression in the South and East China seas.
	Johnston told the Sydney Morning Herald, in an interview from Singapore published today, that he supported their view.
	"The US, Australia and Japan are very concerned that unilateral action is destabilising the region of the South China Sea ...

Australia backs US comments on China's 'destabilising' acts

A 100-year-old beggar in a threadbare coat, 'Grandpa' Dobri, is already celebrated as a saint in Bulgaria, a symbol of goodness in a country ravaged by poverty and corruption.
	For over 20 years, Dobri Dobrev has been begging on the streets of Sofia, collecting alms worth tens of thousands of euros. And he has given it all to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
	This has made him the largest private donor of the golden-domed Alexander Nevski cathedral even as he maintains an ascetic lifestyle.
	"Take some bread, it comes from God!" the hunched old man mutters under his straggly white beard, offering believers the buns that other people give him as they drop coins into his plastic cup and bend to kiss his hand.
	"He gave us 24,900 USD in 2009, while living a life deprived of all comfort. Dobri is an extremely rare phenomenon," Bishop Tikhon, chairman of the cathedral's trustees board said.
	Several smaller monasteries and churches also say they have received between 2,500 and 10,000 euros ..

100-year-old beggar celebrated as living saint in Bulgaria

A massive sandstorm and record winds today plunged the Iranian capital into darkness, damaging buildings, knocking out power supplies and causing widespread disruption.
	The freak weather which struck at 5:10 pm (0610 IST) sent residents dashing for cover as debris swept across streets and snapped trees. State media reported 120 kilometre per hour winds.
	Early reports did not give details of casualties or damage, but experts on state television warned Tehranis to stay indoors.

Massive sandstorm, record winds hit Tehran

Malawi, traditionally dependent on Western aid donors, will look for "new friends" in countries such as China, India and Russia, newly-elected President Peter Mutharika said at his inauguration today.
	   The ceremony at a stadium in the commercial capital Blantyre was boycotted by outgoing president Joyce Banda, who was soundly beaten by Mutharika in disputed elections held on May 20.
	   Mutharika, who takes power in one of the world's poorest countries where 40 percent of the budget comes from aid, said the donor nations were "welcome to stay here".
	   Foreign policy would be based on what is best for Malawi, he said.
	   "We will continue with traditional relationships, but we are now looking for new friends in emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Russia."
	   Mutharika said he regretted Banda's absence, saying she had "declined to come here and hand over power to me.
	   "I was looking forward to shaking her hand and burying the past. I have an olive 

Malawi's president seeks 'new friends' in China, India, Russia

The United States said today that Russia is continuing to support the pro-Russian insurgency in Ukraine, despite US sanctions aimed at punishing it for its alleged interference in its neighbour.
	"There is evidence that Russia continues to allow the free flow of weapons, funds, and fighters across its borders and President (Vladimir) Putin's next steps are still not clear," Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said, in a speech in Washington.
	Lew said the United States had worked with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and its G7 partners to coordinate a response to the crisis and provide Ukraine with financial and technical assistance.
	"Our goal was to impose a cost on Russia for its occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea and to deter Russian military intervention in Ukraine," he said, according to prepared remarks for an event at the Centre of Strategic and International Studies.
	Lew said the Treasury's coordinated and precise sanctions had put "enormous pressure" on .

US says Russia allows fighters to cross into Ukraine

Leading Taiwanese tech firm Asus unveiled a hybrid device which combines a laptop, tablet and mobile phone today in what it hailed as a "world first".
	The launch came the day before Computex, Asia's biggest technology trade show opens its doors in the capital Taipei.
	Asus chief Jonney Shih showed off the Transformer Book V in front of a packed house of hundreds of industry leaders, experts and media from around the world.
	"In each of the modes, we offer an uncompromised experience, no matter whether for communication, productivity or entertainment," Shih said.
	In a further attempt by the company to diversify into the mobile market, the device has five modes, as a laptop and detachable tablet running both Android and Windows operating systems and as an Android phone.
	The five-inch phone docks into the tablet and promises speeds up to four times faster than 3G. As a laptop, one "hardware button" switches between the two operating systems.
	Asus made its name making motherboards but 

Asus launches new 'five-mode' hybrid laptop

Activists said today they had a trove of documents proving the Japanese military was complicit in the wartime system of sex slavery, despite nationalist quibbles over responsibility.
	The Asian Solidarity Conference said it had more than 500 papers -- many of them from the government -- that supported the 1993 apology issued by Tokyo, in which it said it was sorry for the coercive brothel system.
	Historians say as many as 200,000 Asian women, many of them from the Korean peninsula, were forced to work in military brothels catering to Japanese troops during World War II.
	Despite the apology to the so-called "comfort women" and a 1965 deal normalising ties with Seoul and intended to settle all outstanding claims for wartime wrongs, the issue continues to mar relations.
	While many Japanese accept the country's guilt, some senior politicians on the right -- including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- have suggested that the issue is overblown, and say there is no reliable evidence of ...

Documents show Japan complicit in WWII sex slavery: activists

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today she hopes Britain will stay in the EU, amid wrangling over a top EU job that reportedly prompted an exit warning by the British prime minister.
	Merkel reiterated that she was pressing "in all the talks that I have" for former Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker to gain majority backing to become the EU Commission's next president.
	But she said she hoped such a "controversial" decision would be taken in the "spirit of Europe" which meant seeking the "highest degree of consensus".
	"Therefore it's not as though I don't mind, for example, whether Britain is a member of the European Union or not," Merkel told a joint press conference with the visiting Georgian prime minister.
	Her spokesman had also earlier said that Britain belonged in the EU and that neither Merkel nor her government was "indifferent" as to whether non-euro member Britain was part of the wider 28-nation bloc.
	"On the contrary, we're convinced Britain belongs in the EU," ..

Merkel wants Britain to stay in EU fold

Many ordinary Afghans said today the five senior Taliban figures who were freed in exchange for a US soldier had blood on their hands and their release would strengthen the insurgents.
	The men are all former officials of the Taliban regime that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
	The insurgents have been battling the Western-backed Afghan government since they were ousted from power in a US-led invasion.
	The Taliban had long demanded the release of the five, who are considered still influential within the movement.
	They were freed from Guantanamo Bay and transferred to the Gulf state of Qatar, in exchange for army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl who had been captured by the Taliban five years ago.
	Of the five, Norullah Noori, the ex-governor of the northern province of Balkh, was seen as the most controversial among the people AFP spoke to in the area, where he is accused of taking part in the 1998 massacre of thousands of Shiites.
	The others include Khairullah Khairkhwa, the Taliban ...

Many Afghans oppose release of Taliban officials

Fierce fighting between Islamists and a rogue Libyan general killed 16 people in Benghazi today, triggering fears of an all-out war as hospitals urged citizens to donate blood.
	Officials at two hospitals in the eastern city, the birthplace of the NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, said at least 11 soldiers and five civilians were killed, and 26 people wounded.
	An air force commander said the clashes erupted when three Islamist groups, including Ansar al-Sharia, attacked a base of elite forces who support the renegade general, Khalifa Haftar.
	Images posted on the Internet showed army assault helicopters firing missiles at suspected Islamist targets.
	The fighting was the bloodiest since 76 people were killed in mid-May when Haftar unleashed an offensive dubbed "Operation Dignity" to purge Libya of Islamists he brands "terrorists".
	It triggered panic in Benghazi, Libya's second city where hospitals appealed to people to donate blood and doctors called 

Fierce fighting kills 16 in Libya's Benghazi

Aricca Wallace knew she was nearly out of time.
	For more than three years, she had suffered cramping and irregular bleeding, which her doctor thought was a side effect of her birth control implant, known as an intrauterine device, or IUD.
	Her annual Pap smears were always normal, so no one suspected cancer.
	Except it was cancer, and by the time the 34-year-old mother of two had the IUD removed and was finally diagnosed, her tumors had reached stage three and the disease was spreading through the lymph nodes in her abdomen and chest.
	"I was told by a specialist that there wasn't any chemo that could kill it," Wallace told AFP. "And that I'd be gone in a year."
	That was in February 2012. A few months later, Wallace's doctor told her about an immunotherapy trial at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Centre, a research hospital just outside the US capital.
	Wallace enrolled. Doctors removed one of her tumours and collected some of the immune cells that were surrounding it. ...

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